Days at the Beach
by frostfalcon
Summary: Dean has a hobby and a friend outside of the hunting world...


I wrote this for the Trope Bingo prompt "A Day at the Beach" and didn't finish it in time. I finally got around to giving it at least a good place to pause. I won't say it's an ending because I really think that I want to have Marty and Dean end up hunting something and I'm sure the Hetty knows what's out there and knows about the boys, she might even have had dealings with John in the past, she does seem to know everything and everyone... I'm also still without a beta so if you notice an issue let me know so I can fix it, and I'm pretty sure there is quite a bit of them all being out of character but it's all in fun... Work Text:

Trope Bingo  
A Day at the Beach  
Frostfalcon  
Started 1/17/2013  
Finished 8/23/2013

Dean walked out on to the sand and looked toward the horizon, he saw a few early morning surfers taking advantage of the beautiful morning. He sat down cross legged on the beach, watched the surfers and just let himself breathe. It was a Saturday and he had just stopped in to check on Sammy the night before since he was in the area and his dad had taken off on a new hunt without him, so without a clear idea of what to do Dean decided to take a few days and see what was so special about California that Sam had deserted the family, deserted him.

Sitting there on the cool sand he realized he'd much rather be doing this as a family. They never did that, had a day at the beach as a family, no hunting just taking the time to be together. He quickly jerked his mind's leash back from that thought, that way led to a spiral of loneliness and a whole bunch of other feelings he couldn't deal with at the moment. He tried to steer his mind towards other thoughts or maybe even nothing at all, there were times when it was nice to just sit and breathe, just exist in the moment. He didn't get time to do it very often and until Sam went away getting a minute to himself was a rare luxury, now it was depressing and lonely. When he wasn't working on a hunt or getting orders from his father he was pretty much all alone and he wasn't one of those people that thrived by himself for long periods of time. He felt like he was adrift on the tide without ever leaving the shore.

"Looks like you want to be out there." said a voice over his shoulder, Dean sighed and decided that yeah it did look like something he wanted to try.

"You know what, I think you're right. I do want to be out there but I haven't the foggiest on how to even get started." Dean said with a sad smile.

He heard the guy behind him put a few things down on the sand and saw his legs as he came around to sit next to Dean.

"I'm Marty and if you have some time I can get you started, but I'll warn you it's a bit addictive." Dean looked over at the man next to him and saw the longish blond hair and sincere smile and decided he had nothing to lose.

"I'd really like that, so what do I need?" Dean asked trying to figure out if he could spare the money to rent whatever equipment he needed and before he could even come up with a basic idea of what he had available Marty started talking.

"I have a spare board and leash, you may need to see about a wetsuit. You can swim right?" Marty asked as he tried to think of anything else they might need. "Why don't we take a walk back to my place, get some coffee and see about getting you suited up?"

"I can swim like a fish, so I'm good there and coffee sounds like an awesome idea. Lead the way." Dean said getting to his feet and turning to give Marty a hand up.

Marty gathered up his board and the bag with his towel, sun block and whatever else he might have needed and started to walk back the way he came with Dean walking along right beside him. They got to the street where Dean had parked the Impala and he paused. "Is it very far? My car is right here if you'd rather drive."

Marty didn't even hesitate before he answered. "My place is less than a mile and we have to pass a surf shop and an amazing coffee shop."

"Walking it is! Just let me drop my jacket in the car before it gets to warm." Dean said digging the keys out of his pocket and tossing the old leather jacket into the back seat.

They walked for a bit and stopped to pick a couple of cups of coffee Dean would have sworn was in the top three of all time, and he should know seeing that he was pretty sure he'd had coffee in about a zillion places.

"So what brings you to LA?" Marty asked trying to get a conversation started.

"My brother, he's attending Stanford and since I was in the area to check on him I figured I might as well head this way and see what makes California so special."

"Stanford huh? Good school. Not exactly close to here but not too far for a visit. I take it he's having a good time?" Marty asked politely as he led them into a surf shop just a few doors down from the coffee shop.

"I'm not sure if he's having a good time, sometimes Sam's way too serious but he seems happy and he always does well in classes. I didn't really get to talk to him but I did get a peek at his girlfriend and they both seem to be into each other." Dean said as he took in the racks of wet suits, boards and all the accessories one could ever need for water related sports.

"Manny!" Marty called out "I have a new friend here that is looking to try surfing, can you get him set up with a few things? I got a board and leash already."

A slightly shorter man wandered out of the back room in response to Marty's call and took a look at Dean.

"Yeah we can get him taken care of, you looking to rent or buy?" Manny asked.

Dean though a few seconds and decided what the hell he had the extra and the idea of a rental wetsuit kinda skeeved him out. "Let's go with the buy option." And who knows maybe someday he'd need it for a hunt or something, it's not like the Impala lacked room now that is was just him most of the time.

It didn't take long before Manny had a pile of stuff the Dean needed, and Dean just forked over a small pile of cash he'd made off a few well played games of pool. He didn't want to pull out one of the credit cards here since it wasn't a chain and he didn't want to leave Manny in the lurch if the card company didn't want to pay up on a fraudulent card bigger business could handle the loss better.

They left and picked up a few things at Marty's place and headed back to the beach, Dean had traded in his boots for sandals and was looking like he fit in with the people at the beach a bit better. He and Marty chatted and joked around as Marty went over the basics, pointing out what the parts of the board were called and then he went over the theory of how to go from lying on the board to paddle out to how to stand, Dean practiced on the shore a few times to get the hang of the movements. They eventually made it out into the water and by the end of the day Dean was surfing, he wasn't the best but he could do it and Marty was right he could see himself getting addicted very easily. They ended up spending the day on the waves only coming in to have some water and re-apply sun block. It was one of the best days Dean had ever had that didn't involve another member of his family and Marty was really cool.

Dean didn't have any pressing need to be anywhere else and ended up spending a few weeks hanging out with Marty, getting to know his friends and spending quite a few days surfing even when Marty had to go to school or work or where ever it was that he went. Dean even ended up buying his own board and accessories so he could continue when he was near any place with a beach and waves.

Marty had him out every morning going to yoga of all things, but not only were the women in the class providing a nice view, his balance and flexibility were never better and that helped a lot with his surfing, he also discovered that the inner balance and emotional issues were a lot easier to deal with, not that he would own up to anything other than the view mind you, he had a reputation to uphold.

He had considered giving up hunting and maybe getting a job and settling in. It wasn't like dad was in keeping touch and Sammy was close enough to keep an eye on, there really wasn't any reason other than he knew what was out there in the dark and he was one of the few people that could do anything about it.

In the end he stayed almost a month and a half before his own wanderlust and a call from dad sent him on his way. He said good bye to Marty and made sure to get an e-mail address and a cell number to keep in touch.

Over the years they occasionally exchanged texts or e-mails and a few times Dean dropped by to catch up and surf. It wasn't great but it helped Dean keep his sanity while he was missing his brother and his father kept spending less and less time with him hunting. The contact stopped altogether when Dean made the wanted list for the first time and getting declared dead didn't help matters, it was bad enough he had pulled Sam into the mess his life had become. Sam was at least family and knew how to deal with it, there was no way he would let his screw ups taint Marty's life so when the shit hit the fan Dean didn't reconnect, not even to reassure Marty that he was really alive. It was better off this way and he hoped Marty could forgive him for just vanishing if they ever saw each other again…

Sometime after his year in Purgatory Dean and Sam made it out to LA for a standard haunting, it was so startlingly easy they were shocked and unsure what to do next. They had gotten so used to being run ragged and nearly overwhelmed recently that the almost routine salt and burn left them feeling like the other shoe should be dropping any second.

Dean was especially on edge and still trying to deal with the aftermath and edginess that the never ending struggle that was his year in Purgatory left behind. He looked over at Sam sitting looking a bit lost in the passenger seat and looked at his own reflection in the rearview mirror.

"I think we should stop for a bit Sam. Here looks good, what do you think of taking some time in LA to relax?" Dean suggested as he started to look around for a cheap motel.

Sam looked over at his brother and blinked a few times, then really looked at Dean and could see just how worn and beaten down he was. He had been confused by the suggestion but if Dean wanted to take a break than they would take one.

"That sounds like a good idea, it'll be nice to relax and maybe get some real rest." Sam said carefully watching Dean's reaction. He must have said the right thing because he could see some of the tension ease up on Dean.

It took a few minutes but Dean found a motel, Sam thought it almost looked like he knew where he was going but Sam couldn't remember them being in LA for anything other the time that they took care of a haunted movie set, he knew Dean had enjoyed himself on that one. Sam decided he was just being a bit paranoid and tried to think of the things he wanted to do while they tried to catch up the rest and relaxation they really needed. He started a list in his head and right at the top was to sleep as long as he could and then take the longest shower he could manage, laundry and maybe a little restocking of personal items would come later but they needed to be done too. He wondered what Dean was planning when they pulled into a motel a few moments later. Dean parked and they got a room in a rundown but surprisingly clean motel. It took just a few minutes to unload the car and secure the room, Dean then surprises Sam by offering him the first shower and Sam jumps at the chance.

After taking a decent shower Sam wraps a towel around his hips and walks out of the bathroom to let Dean know it's free, he notices a note on the pillow. Walking over he picks it up and basically it's just a quick went for food be right back sort of thing so Sam gets dressed and starts to sort their clothes for washing while he waits for Dean to return with dinner. It takes a little longer than he expected but the fish tacos and other goodies that Dean returns with are worth the extra wait.

While Dean was out he went to the storage unit he had nearby, it was the size of a closet but really it was all he needed and he was just thrilled that with all the crap he had to deal with in the past few years it was still there, the direct funds transfer he'd set up to pay for it had worked and he still had the key. It took a little work to get the lock open after years of being neglected but he got the door open and there she was, his board. She had a thin coating of dust but that was easy to take care of. He took a moment to put the plastic bin with his "LA supplies" in the backseat and put the surfboard rack on the roof of the Impala, it had been years since he needed to strap it on but after a few tries he remembers just how it went and got the board situated on it. There was no way he'd be able to hide this from Sammy but he needed to be out on the water too badly to even try to keep it a secret and who knows maybe one of Sam's friends took the time to teach his brother to surf and they could enjoy the ocean together? On the way back to the room he stopped off a little restaurant that he a Marty used to go to a lot. He really missed being able to talk to Marty but it was for the best if only to keep him safe.

When he got back he brought in the food and handed it off to Sam. "I have a few more things in the car, want to get that stuff out and ready to go? There are a few drinks in there too. I'll be right back in." Dean said and slipped back out the door. He returned a minute later and put the bin between the beds and went back out. The look he got from Sam as he carried the surf board into the room was comical.

"Dean, where did that come from?"

"I have a storage locker a few blocks over." He said as he put the board down and headed over to the tiny table where Sam had placed the food. Sam held his tongue he didn't interrogate Dean that very moment, for that Dean was grateful and he got to enjoy his meal.

Dean fully expected the third degree as soon as the food was done so he figured he'd tell Sam the story as he cleaned and prepped his board. Sam paid close attention to the story and to the care that Dean put into taking care of the surfboard the only other object that Dean paid so much attention to was the Impala, not even the weapons got treated this way, yes he did a complete and thorough job on them but it seemed like the Impala and the surfboard were treated with something close to reverence. He was a little surprised by the story but not at how easily Dean had made a friend or how quickly he got the hang of surfing, Dean was always good at physical activity and loved to swim and the more time he spent with his brother the more he realized that Dean was very social even while pretending he didn't need anyone.

"Hey Sam can you get the waxing kit out of the bin?" Dean asks, knowing that Sam is just eager to see what is in the box and gives him the perfect reason to snoop. Sam quickly gets up to rummage through it and satisfy his curiosity. Sitting on "his" bed he hands the smaller box full of oddly named items to Dean and peers into the bin. There is a pair of sandals, a few other little boxes that he can't guess the contents of and another bin, this one clear and it looks like it may contain a wet suit. Sam took a moment to think and it really does hit him, Dean surfs… he has a hobby outside of hunting that he was able to enjoy and never let the rest of his family know about. It's a side of Dean that he never knew existed and one he'd like to know.

"Is there any way you'd be willing to teach me? I've had a few friends that enjoyed it but I never got the chance to learn." Sam asked hoping Dean would be willing, it would give them something to bond over other than hunting and he really wanted a chance to get to know this part of his brother. He never even considered Dean had this whole other part of him, he kept realizing there was so much of his brother he assumed he knew that he was clueless about, it was time to really see Dean for who he is.

"I'm not sure I can teach, I had Marty and he was just great." Dean said as he tried to remember just how Marty had gone about teaching him. "We can give it a try, but I don't promise success."

"Have you thought of getting in touch with Marty now that you're here?" Sam asked, trying to make it sound more like a suggestion but not wanting to corner Dean in a conversation if he wasn't ready for it.

"Nah… I kept tabs on him and it's better for both of us if we keep it in the past. He's with the LAPD now and I'm not, hell I'm not even sure what I am anymore, I've been declared dead a few times, I've been on the most wanted list and who knows what else. I don't want my life tainting his." Dean sighed and went back to polishing the board.

"I get it Dean and I wish that you could have everything you want but at least you're going to get to indulge your inner "Beach Boy" right?" Sam said as he gathered up the courage to snag one of the smaller boxes out of the bin, he opened it and nestled inside was a Puka shell necklace with turquoise and brass mixed in and some sort of hook shaped thing on a leather thong. He took it out and looked at it.

"It's a Hei Matau, it's for safe passage over water. That one is green marble I think, traditionally they're made of Whale bone but I'm not really happy with the bone idea knowing what we do." Dean explained as he put the board aside and packed stuff back in the box.

He grabbed the bin with the wet suit and opened it, checking it over and giving it a sniff he was happy to see that it didn't even smell musty and looked to be in just as good condition as the day he put it away.

"Sam, sleep in tomorrow, if I'm not here when you get up call my cell or just walk to the beach ok? If I wake up early I want to get some time on the water before it gets crowded. Now it's my turn to hit the shower. Have a good night and see you in the AM" Dean grabbed his bathroom bag and headed into the bathroom and shut the door.

Sam leant back on the headboard and considered all the things he had learned about his brother in just a few hours, it was refreshing to see Dean doing something that was just for his enjoyment. He slid down and peeled off his clothes until he got to just a t-shirt and boxers and tried to sleep.

When he woke up Dean had indeed already left, it was only about eight but the sun was already streaming through the curtains. Sam got out of bed and got dressed, left a message on Dean's voice mail and noticed he had a text from Dean with the name and directions to a local coffee shop. Sam headed that way because coffee sounded like an amazing idea.

The beach was almost exactly the same as the day he had met Marty, it was really early and he had stopped for coffee and sat cross legged on the beach just breathing, this time it was more cleansing and less depressing. He watched the few people out there enjoying the early morning quiet. He took a sip of the coffee, it was still as awesome as the first time he'd had it. When he finished he put the empty cup in his bag to throw it out later and stretched out mixing a little of the yoga that he remembered from the classes with Marty and the Sun Salutations that Lisa had somehow gotten him into, with some of the stretches his dad had trained them in and when he felt ready he went out to see if he could still remember what he was doing. After a few really crappy attempts everything just slid right into place and he felt like he had never been away. After a couple of hours he went back to his stuff to check his phone, Sam left a message and was heading his way. Just about the time he hit the delete key Sam wandered into view and Dean gave him a wave.

"I see you've been having fun. When did the Impala get a roof rack?" Sam asked as he handed over the extra coffee he had picked up for Dean.

"Thanks, it was with the board. I don't have the space to put it on the back seat and it just seemed logical. When I was going to be headed places I knew had waves I'd bring everything with me. It's not like I had space issues while dad was off in the truck. I got to surf in Florida and a few times off Long Island but once things started getting busy and I went to pick you up I left it all here and drove the rest of the way to see you and you know how it goes from there." Dean took another sip of coffee and looked out over the waves. "Come on, let's go see if Manny can get you sorted out and ready to hit the waves." Dean picked up his stuff and carried it back to the car and locked it up.

They took a short walk over to where Dean remembered Manny's shop being and realized that it had grown since he was last here. He walked in and tried to remember the good times he had when he was last here and the last time he saw Marty. Those were the good old days, before hell, before the aborted apocalypse and long before purgatory, he really wished that he'd given up hunting when he had thought about it, life would have been so different, hopefully he'd have been happier, Sam would have still had Jessica and his dreams, the more he thought about it the more he wished he'd chosen to stay all those years ago.

"Oh my god!" Someone exclaimed startling Dean out of his daydream. Dean looked around and there was Manny looking like he'd seen a ghost. "Dean, I thought you had died or something. Where the hell have you been? It's been years since you were here."

"Things got busy for a while, let me introduce you to my brother, Sam. He needs the works, but I'm thinking rental for now I'm not sure how he's going to take to surfing." Dean said trying to direct the attention from himself over to Sam.

"My you're a big boy aren't ya?" Manny said holding out his hand for Sam to shake. "I think we can get you taken care of."

Sam shook hands and looked around perplexed as Dean was looking at a few things in the glass case by the register. Manny came back with a pile of things and handed them off to Sam. "Go see how the wet suit fits, and then I'm sure your brother can help you figure out the rest." Manny said pointing to a curtained off area, Sam went to figure it out when he felt something soft hit the back of his head., he bent to pick what ever it was up. Dean had hit him with a bathing suit. Sam smiled to himself thinking it was nice that Dean was enjoying himself a little.

Manny went to the counter to ring up what he had rented Sam and Dean pointed out a leather necklace with Hei Matau in jade. "I think Sam should have that too." Dean said as he pulled out cash to take care of everything.

"You know, we missed you. Marty missed you, it didn't take long for you to make an impression." Manny handed him his change.

"I wanted to stay but there was just too much going on and then Sam's girlfriend died and life went to hell. It's finally getting to the point where I can afford to take a few days and since we were here already it seemed like a good time to stop for a bit." Dean sighed as he watched Sam come out of the back area looking like he was mostly ready. He really wished he could get Marty out here to help or at least to make jokes about giraffe's on surf boards. This was going to be an interesting day, he could just feel it.

It was the funniest thing Dean had ever seen, Sam wasn't really very graceful on a surfboard but he was an almost unending source of amusement. Dean was sure he hadn't laughed that much in ages but by the end of the day Sam had almost gotten it. He'd get it down for sure the next day if he wasn't too sore and wanted to try some more. The two of them, the waves, the beach and finally they sat and watched the sun sink below the horizon. This was the kind of day Dean had been needing for so long, it would have been perfect if the whole family was there but in his life he had learned, you take the good times you get and hold onto them and treasure them.

"Come on Sam, let's get some dinner and get cleaned up." He said as he rose and extended his hand to Sam like he had to Marty once upon a time at this beach.

"Fish tacos again? They were really good." Sam suggested as he tried to stretch away some of the soreness from getting tossed around on the ocean.

"Whatever you want, lets get going." Dean gathered up their stuff and they headed to the motel.

The next morning Dean was up early, he saw Sam sleeping deeply and had expected it after all the exercise he'd gotten trying to surf. Dean smiled and left another note and headed out for some beach time and coffee.

He sat cross legged on the sand enjoying the sound of the waves and the taste of the coffee when he heard someone come up behind him.  
"Dean, long time no see buddy. Manny said you were in town, how have you been?" Marty said as he sat down next to Dean and took a sip from his own coffee.

"I've been alright, no use in complaining. Sorry I lost contact I didn't want too but things got to complicated." Dean apologized.

"I know how that can be, it seems that you've been dead a few times, a serial killer, a bank robber and I lost track of it all after a while. I even think I know why you let go, you didn't want to drag me into it, I just wish you had tried to explain even a little bit. I would have understood, well as long as it wasn't longer than two years ago." Marty took a sip of coffee and let Dean think a bit.

"Why two years? What happened two years ago?" Dean asked wondering just what Marty cold have heard about him.

"I had a case where something and it turned out to be a something, was killing homeless people. The police thought it was some sort of whack job so I ended up playing bait undercover and got really lucky when this tall, skinny and most likely insane dude jumped in front of what ever it was and between the two of us we managed to kill it. I still have no clue what the damn thing was but it managed to leave a pretty deep slice in Garth's leg so I dragged him back to my place to clean it up and he saw the picture of us and launched into this spiel about why was I out hunting with the wrong type of ammo…" Marty looked at Dean, Dean raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Turns out this Garth guy knew who you were and thought I knew all about the things that go bump in the night, he was pretty shocked when I turned out to be clueless. He told me all about what you do and how it's screwed your life up. I'm just glad to see your still here and in one piece after some of the stuff he said. Then he rambled on about some guy named Bobby needing to hear about this, pulled out a cell phone and vanished into my bathroom for a while and came back to get all the 'Juicy Deets' for the Bobby guy. To this day I'm pretty sure there is something up with that dude."

"So you met Garth and found out that there is more out there than most people. I'm glad that you made it out of your first encounter, for a lot people that first encounter turns out to be the last and only." Dean said, he briefly thought that even when he wasn't around his life dragged others into the darkness.

"Yeah, and Garth was a bit of a nut case but seemed to know what he was doing, because what ever it was never killed again. He gave me a bit of a hunting 101 and then told me to call him instead of trying to deal with it." Marty said as he looked out over the waves and then back at Dean, "I'm lucky I've never had to call, I hope I never do, but Garth did check in every so often to make sure things were still monster free. So why are you here now? Do I need to call Garth?" Marty said looking at Dean.

Dean looked back out at the water and sighed, "I hate that you had to find out what's really out there. I thought if I just vanished you'd keep going on without the darkness touching you. I'm here trying to relax and recover my balance a bit. These past few years have been hell, and I'm talking not just the way they felt but literally hell. Sam and I needed a break." Dean paused and took a deep breath and looked at his friend and started to speak again "The thing is the past few years I've lived knowing that I'm going to die and now that I'm back I want to live like I'm going to live. The past year burned away a lot of the parts of me I didn't need strictly to survive and now I get to choose what I fill that space with and I'm not sure Sam would understand and he might be the only one that stands a chance of getting how I feel right now."

"Dean, no matter what you think you didn't cause the darkness to find me, I'm a cop and I went out looking for it. I might have found a different type of monster than what I was looking for but I still would have found it or it would have found me. I'm glad you're alive and no matter what I'm here. Since you're here for fun let's hit the waves and leave the heavy crap on the shore for a while and if we need to talk more later we can do it over a few beers or something stronger." Marty suggested as he stood and offered Dean a hand up.

When they came back to shore Dean was feeling lighter and less burdened. Sam was waiting on the shore with a cup of coffee and just enjoying the way the sun felt on his skin.

"Marty, this is the geek boy supreme otherwise know as my brother Sam, Sam this is Marty, he taught me how to bum around the beach and surf." Dean introduced the two of them and watched them size each other up then they both reached out to shake hands.

Life wasn't perfect but he had Sam, he had Marty back and had might not have had a day at the beach with his family but this was close enough.


End file.
